RUNNING : Fields Finds USOC Outreach Assistance Simply Out of Reach

Farron Fields of Northridge is not the first person it’s happened to, and he certainly won’t be the last.

But Fields’ rejection as a candidate for financial assistance via the U.S. Olympic Committee’s Outreach Program points out some of the problems facing post-collegiate track and field athletes in the United States.

Fields, who graduated from Granada Hills High in 1979, is not likely to win an Olympic gold medal or set a world record during his career, but he is among the top 15-20 distance runners in the country.

He has timed 28 minutes 45.9 seconds in the 10,000 meters this year, placed 10th in the 10,000 at The Athletics Congress championships in June and third in the same event at the Olympic Festival in July.

Those accomplishments should entitle him to some kind of financial support, but they haven’t.

Three weeks ago, Fields applied to the USOC’s Outreach Program, which finds jobs for athletes and allows them to work part time (20-30 hours a week), but to receive a salary for a full week’s work. Last week, however, he received a form letter from TAC--which decides whether to accept applicants--informing him that he wasn’t a “viable” Olympic candidate.

“The way they do it really makes you feel like dirt,” Fields said. “They had underlined the word viable in red. . . . It’s not like I’m asking for free money. I just need a job that allows me some time to train.”

The problem with USOC support programs is that they cater too much to the elite athletes and not enough to the up-and-coming and journeyman ones.

Athletes who consistently rank among the top 10 in the world in their respective events, such as Carl Lewis, Roger Kingdom and Evelyn Ashford, don’t need financial help from the USOC.

They make a pretty good--in some cases great--living from appearance fees and shoe contracts, yet the USOC designs its programs to their advantage although it’s athletes such as Fields who need financial help.

“I’d like to run for another five years,” said Fields, 28. “But a lot depends on what happens with the money situation. I need to start making some money, but if I get a full-time job, I’m afraid I’ll be too tired and busy to train properly.”

Scorpion watch: Abe Valdez, who finished fourth in the 1989 State Division I cross-country championships for Camarillo High, will run for Central Arizona, a two-year college in Coolidge, in the fall.

Valdez, who led Camarillo to the State Division I team title in cross-country, was offered an athletic scholarship by Nebraska, but the offer was withdrawn when he failed to meet the NCAA’s Proposition 48 requirements.

He was the Southern Section 4-A Division champion in the 3,200 meters and placed sixth in that event at the state championships in June.

Valdez’s personal best of 9 minutes 1 second in the 3,200 ranks him sixth on this year’s national high school list.

Trivia question: Valdez’s best in the 3,200 converts to a 9:04.19 two-mile, more than 20 seconds off the Camarillo school record.

Who holds the record and in what year did he set it?

New Charger in town: Bryan Dameworth graduated in June and highly regarded senior Quentin Bauer might not run because of other interests, but Agoura Coach Bill Duley isn’t worried about how his cross-country forces will fare when the Chargers move into the traditionally strong Marmonte League this season.

Duley has some high-quality returning lettermen from last year’s team, which finished third in the State Division I championships, and some talented newcomers.

“I’m really looking forward to the new league,” said Duley, who led Agoura to Frontier League boys’ titles the past four years. “I think it may help keep the kids more motivated during the season. In the Frontier League, the kids never had to worry about meets. But that’s not going to be the case now. . . . They’ll have to be sharp every week.”

Senior Mike Cherman, who finished 27th in last year’s state cross-country meet, is Agoura’s top returning runner, but Duley is high on sophomore Ryan Wilson, a running back on the freshman team last year who ran 52 seconds for 440 yards on the track.

“We’ll have to see how he runs the first couple of meets, but I think he’s going to be a good one,” said Duley, who coached Dameworth to three State Division I cross-country titles and senior Deena Drossin to two. “He’s built like Bryan and he’s been running right with Mike in workouts.”

Trivia answer: Eric Reynolds ran 8:44.0 in 1983. Reynolds won the 3,200 meters at the 1983 state track championships in 8:54.75.